If Not Now, When?

THIS ISSUE: Overeating - Why Do We Do It?

Table of Contents:

1) Editor's Note
2) Food for Thought
3) Feature Article: Overeating - Why Do We Do It?
4) Teleclasses
5) Question & Answer
6) Our Services

Editor's Note

Hi,

Aloha! I just had to get that in there.

We returned from two weeks on Maui last week. As you might imagine, it was absolutely terrific. We visited a lot of beautiful beaches, did some snorkeling and beach walking in the surf. We also lived vicariously through all the fantastic surfers, wind surfers, and kite surfers by watching them “do their thing” for hours, while we relaxed in the shade of a beach-side tree. It was really nice to get back to the island. We hadn't been there in 15 years. The only thing we realized that we didn't miss is the humidity.

The weather here is absolutely gorgeous! Fall in the desert means day time temperatures in the 80's, with nights dropping down into the 50's. Couple that with single digit humidity, and you have perfect weather conditions (at least by my standards). On the down side, we won't have as many arts and craft shows to attend. But, we do have a big one coming up this weekend.

Well, down to business. This month's main article addresses what I think is a very interesting topic. That is, Overeating – Why Do We Do It?

Good luck, keep exercising, and remember – "If not now, when?".

Best Wishes,

Tom Manfredi


Send any comments you may have to tom@fitness-after-50.com

My site fitness-after-50.com

Food for Thought

Feature Article - Overeating - Why Do We Do It?

I recently read an article about a book by David A. Kessler, called “The End of Overeating - Taking Control of the Insatiable North American Appetite”. Mr. Kessler was the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 1990 to 1997. In this book, he has some interesting things to say about overeating. I am going to go over some of them in this article.

Did you know that in 1960 the average weight among U.S. women ages 40 to 49 was 140 pounds? In 2000 it had jumped to 169. Average weights for other groups have increased in a similar fashion. Two out of three American adults are now either overweight or obese.

So what's causing this alarming epidemic? As you might imagine, it's a combination of things. But lets look at a few of the more interesting ones.

Most people don't seem to know the various reasons why they eat (aside from being hungry). So what causes people to eat when they aren't necessarily hungry? Apparently, sugar is a prime driver in our desire to eat. And adding fat to the mix increases the drive synergistically. There is also a third trigger – salt. The most palatable foods have at least two, if not all three of them.

There are chemicals in the brain that help us focus our attention. As human beings, we usually focus on the most important stimuli in our environment. Sugar and fat combined help to stimulate more brain activation, often making those items our primary focus. Additionally, previous encounters with foods that have sugar and fats in them (like chocolate chip cookies), can increase our anticipation and desire to eat these things long after our calorie needs are met. And, this desire may not only be cued by the sight of a cookie, but by a location, or the time of day where or when we have eaten a cookie before. It sure sounds like we are doomed!

It gets worse too! If a food is more complex, in other words, it has more texture, aroma, and temperature; that can help to keep the brain activated and desiring the food for a longer period of time. So, ice cream with crumbled cookies and hot fudge on it may very well cause you to want to eat more of it because of the increased variety of tastes, textures , and smells. This increased desire doesn't happen to everyone, but it happens to a large enough percentage (as many as 50% of us) to make the food industry take note and design their foods around these triggers.

This may be why diets often don't work. You can deprive someone by cutting their calories for a certain length of time, but, after the weight is lost, the old desires are still there, unless you do something to change them.

Probably one of the most important things to do to change a person's eating habits is for them to start seeing overeating as a negative thing. Something that can really hurt them. Similar to smoking. I know that what helped me quit smoking many years ago was the fact that I started seeing it as really dangerous and detrimental to my health.

We need the food industry to make good tasting foods that are good for us, and they need to stop glamorizing unhealthy foods through their advertising.

What are some things you can do?